Today, I marked, measured, and sewed the pleats and darts to the dress who's pattern was gifted to me by my grandmother. The dress is now called, "Nan's Dress." (I call my grandmother Nan.)
Above you can see that I'm in the process of fitting it to my tired dressform. She's on her last "pole" (since she doesn't have legs) these days. I'm considering making her into home decor, but I can't afford a new dressform at this time, so she'll have to make do for now. I feel bad saying that... but its not like she's a person... it's weird because she's in the shape of one! Like when you aren't paying attention in a store and you almost bump into a mannequin and say, "Excuse me."
The middle back pleat isn't as precise as I would have liked, but no one is going to know, I suppose, unless they stare at it. I haven't ironed down the darts or the pleats yet because I made marks for them with washable fabric marker, however, its possible if you iron over the water soluble marker, it will become permanent.
Here is the back pleat and a dart. It's beginning to look a lot like a 50's housewife's dress. Cute!
I think I might slash off some more of the skirt, as it's still looking a bit long for my taste. I'm not a mini skirt lover, but I do like the look of just above the knee for skirts.
The fabric is "mod green pod" which is in some way related to Robert Kaufmann. I only know this because it states just that on the selvage. It is an all organic cotton, and if you're wondering if organic fabric is more expensive - like organic foods, it is. If only someone would create an incentive for buying organic... hmmm
Possibly too hard to see in these little photos, but here might be able to see that I completed the front button hole closure section, sans button holes and buttons. This was very difficult. It took two hours. Hopefully next time it won't take so long. I haven't made any dresses with buttons before so it took some creative thinking, and also because the instructions were so confusing. Other than the collar, the bodice is mostly complete.
Above you can see that I'm in the process of fitting it to my tired dressform. She's on her last "pole" (since she doesn't have legs) these days. I'm considering making her into home decor, but I can't afford a new dressform at this time, so she'll have to make do for now. I feel bad saying that... but its not like she's a person... it's weird because she's in the shape of one! Like when you aren't paying attention in a store and you almost bump into a mannequin and say, "Excuse me."
The middle back pleat isn't as precise as I would have liked, but no one is going to know, I suppose, unless they stare at it. I haven't ironed down the darts or the pleats yet because I made marks for them with washable fabric marker, however, its possible if you iron over the water soluble marker, it will become permanent.
Here is the back pleat and a dart. It's beginning to look a lot like a 50's housewife's dress. Cute!
